User Manual

Summary

An adventure game inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto's own adventures and cave exploration as a child. Link goes on a quest to gather the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom to save Zelda from the evil Ganon. It included a battery to save data, as well as a map in the box for players to find their way and go on their own adventure.

Acquisition

My in-laws had a complete-in-box copy that they gave me with their NES collection. It's not in as great of condition as Super Mario Bros. 3. The top back of the box is ripped. The manual is missing except for the cover. Thankfully, the map is there in an appropriately handled condition. The cartridge has a torn chunk on the edge that faces out when in the NES. A clearly played copy.

Memories

I played it in earnest for the first time on my 3DS through the Virtual Console in January 2015. I never beat it. I certainly have enough resources nowadays to find my way through the world. I do have one of the first 100 editions of my pal Philip Summers hand-drawn Zelda guide.

---

I do remember bouncing between this and Super Mario Bros. 3 at my parents' friend RD's house on a little tube TV upstairs. The gold cartridge was always an alluring element in the physical world that drew me into the digital one.

Related Posts

• The Legend of Zelda Resolution - Week 1
• The Legend of Zelda– New Year Resolution
• MFP11 - “A 1,000 Labels Falling onto the Floor” with Phil Summers

Versions

• Virtual Console, 3DS
• The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition
• Zeruda Korekushon

Miscellaneous

• The Legend of Zelda: Presented by Hand-Drawn Game Guides by Philip Summers
  • Internet Archive
• Breaking Conventions with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild from GDC 2017
  • While this talk is about designing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it features the demo Nintendo made in the style of the first Zelda game. I say it counts.
• Obtaining Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda NES Items in Animal Crossing by Hunter R.
• Iwata Asks - Bonus 1: Ancient Documents from 1985
• Iwata Asks - Bonus 2: The Untold Story of the Second Quest